Batteries

News about Batteries, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Nov. 3, 2016

Solar panel farm owner Nicholas Beatty in Hartwell, England, uses software-controlled, industrial-sized battery to store significant portion of his operation's electricity so excess power can be taken off line when there is too much and put back on when there is too little; is one of many grid operators devising ways to make clean energy sources more reliable and profitable by controlling output and stabilizing prices. MORE

Oct. 11, 2016

Samsung announces halt to production of Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and asks retailers and telecom carriers to stop selling them until defect that caused several fires is fixed; also requests consumers with any Galaxy Note 7 device to power it off and not use it. MORE

Oct. 10, 2016

AT&T says it will no longer replace Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following reports some replacements caught fire; Federal Aviation Admin is investigating phone maker due to incident in which Southwest Airlines flight was evacuated in Louisville, Ky, because Samsung replacement phone began smoking inside plane. MORE

Sep. 13, 2016

Electronically reclining first-class and business-class airplane seats can crush smartphones dropped by passengers, damaging devices' batteries, and lead to possible fire; episodes have led Qantas to impose ban on Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. MORE

Aug. 22, 2016

Bits blog; experts explain how frequent charging can affect smartphone battery life. MORE

Jul. 25, 2016

Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk is persisting with his vision of building clean-energy empire, despite setbacks with his company's electric cars; is planning to increase production of electric vehicles and will open huge new lithium-ion battery factory near Reno, Nev, as part of strategy for building less expensive car. MORE

Oct. 26, 2015

Jun. 17, 2015

Nissan and General Motors announce separate plans to repurpose electric car batteries that remain potent even after they have lost capacity necessary to power vehicles; Nissan announces partnership with Green Charge Networks to create stationary storage systems and General Motors will use batteries to power testing campus in Milford, Mich. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

French billionaire Vincent Bollore has invested heavily in electric-car-rental business Autolib in France, and has introduced new model of electric car that will be part of expansion of business to London; Bollore is intent to show that batteries in the rental cars, manufactured by industrial conglomerate Bollore Group, can compete with those made by rivals in bid to attract buyers from electric car industry. MORE

May. 1, 2015

Tesla Motors announces foray into battery systems and solar power storage market, introducing fleet of systems aimed at homeowners, businesses and utilities; founder Elon Musk, appearing at media event, unveils consumer battery called the Powerwall, which will sell for $3,500 and is derived from batteries company uses in its Model S vehicles. MORE

Apr. 23, 2015

Flow batteries, rechargeable devices that can store and release large amounts of electricity, are being examined as a potential tool for allowing power grids to handle greater amounts of renewable energy; batteries offer a way for utilities to integrate alternative energy sources, which produce fluctuating amounts of electricity, into the grid by storing extra electricity for a steady delayed release. MORE

Apr. 21, 2015

Battery systems capable of storing electric power created by renewable energy sources will likely play important role in weaning United States off fossil fuels; however, battery systems are not yet practical or economical for storing renewable energy on large scale. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

Gadgetwise column; some backpack manufacturers have begun offering backpacks that can allow wearers to charge up mobile devices like smartphones, laptops and tablets using embedded batteries. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Joe Nocera Op-Ed column recommends Steve LeVine book The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World, which describes efforts to produce battery that can replace internal combustion engine in cars; underscores degree to which government is necessarily involved in funding research for new batteries, and why that is necessary and important. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Gadgetwise column; number of companies produce external chargers that can help smartphone and tablet users charge their devices on the go. MORE

Sep. 5, 2014

Tesla Motors finalizes deal with Nevada for the construction of a sprawling factory to build batteries for electric cars and the power grid; chief executive Elon Musk paints sweeping vision of project that will catalyze entry of electric cars into American auto market, and create as many as 6,500 manufacturing jobs in process; Nevada paid dearly for agreement, providing some $1.25 billion in tax breaks over 20 years. MORE

Sep. 4, 2014

Governor of Nevada and Tesla Motors plan announcement concerning the construction of battery factory in state; factory would be 10 times larger than any plant now operating, and is intended to achieve a cost reduction of 30 percent; announcement will include representatives from Nevada's state legislature, which will have to act in order to approve subsidy that company is seeking. MORE

Aug. 7, 2014

Gadgetwise column; wireless charging of mobile devices, while in its nascent stage, is quickly becoming a reality; Wireless Power Consortium and Power Matters Alliance, which has joined up with Alliance for Wireless Power, are competing visions of wireless charging that are trying to gain market share. MORE

Jul. 26, 2014

Syrian rebels are designing rechargeable batteries for shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, development that could make them more lethal against Syrian warplanes; such batteries also carry potential risks for civilian aircraft. MORE

May. 23, 2014

National Transportation Safety Board says tests on lithium-ion batteries for Boeing 787 planes were inadequate, and that new tests should be devised to determine whether batteries with new chemistries are safe for use on airliners. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

Experts say energy storage is crucial to transforming the electrical grid into clean, sustainable low-emissions system, but they note that storage in the form of batteries is years from being feasible; one of the ways to store bulk amounts of energy available at the moment is with cold or heat, using ice or molten salt. MORE

Apr. 12, 2014

Sony warns of potential for batteries to catch fire in some of its new Vaio laptop computers; asks owners to stop using them immediately. MORE

Mar. 25, 2014

Honda and other automakers are using car batteries to store solar electricity to use not just in cars, but in homes, too; Honda is introducing experimental house in environmentally conscious community of Davis, Calif, to showcase technologies that allow dwelling to generate more electricity than it consumes. MORE

Mar. 20, 2014

Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing study finds that major systems on company's 787 Dreamliner jets are safe and well designed, but that federal regulators need to provide more oversight of the far-flung supply networks that are building these and other new planes; study was commissioned following problems with lithium-ion batteries that lead to grounding of the new jets. MORE

Feb. 27, 2014

Tesla Motors says it plans to invest about $2 billion in large-scale factory to produce cheaper batteries for mass-market electric car within three years; indicates it will build factory in Southwest. MORE

Feb. 3, 2014

Tech companies are attempting to address battery life as focus turns to small, wearable devices; advancements in battery technology lag behind as advancements in mobile tech increasingly call for more demands on power consumption. MORE

Jan. 15, 2014

Japan Airlines says one of its 787s vented smoke when a battery failed; Boeing says the problem on a Dreamliner in Tokyo was contained by a new protective system designed to prevent smoke or fire from the volatile ion-lithium batteries from putting a plane at risk. MORE

Jan. 12, 2014

Canadian Tire, country’s leading retailer of automotive and household goods, built pickup truck out of ice as marketing ploy to demonstrate ability of its MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra battery to start a car in subzero temperatures; ice sculpturing company Iceculture created truck. MORE

Dec. 5, 2013

Solar installer SolarCity says a battery system created with Tesla Motors will allow the use of stored electricity in times of highest demand, which would reduce usage at peak periods and associated fees. MORE

Nov. 20, 2013

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, after a third battery fire in a Tesla car in six weeks, says it has started a formal investigation. MORE

Nov. 8, 2013

Federal safety investigators will review accident in Tennessee in which Tesla Model S was destroyed by a fire after its battery was damaged, third such incident in six weeks; accident prompts new questions over the design of company's advanced lithium-ion batteries. MORE

Oct. 4, 2013

Video of Tesla Model S engulfed in flames after a traffic accident sends company's shares tumbling and prompts new questions about safety of lithium-ion batteries in electric cars. MORE

Sep. 19, 2013

Gadgetwise blog; Innovative Technology's Justin Power Case can charge an iPad and other gadgets, including iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices, at the same time. MORE

Aug. 18, 2013

Jack Hitt The Idea column; Meredith Perry has developed prototype of a wireless charger through her firm uBeam; charger transmits electrical power via sound waves. MORE

Jul. 23, 2013

Advertising column; Procter & Gamble's Duracell is introducing its premium Quantum batteries line with a promotion announcing the donation of batteries to firefighters and paramedics. MORE

Jul. 19, 2013

Federal Aviation Administration says it will review recommendations by British authorities to disconnect batteries in the emergency transmitters on all Boeing 787s; British investigators found signs of disruption in transmitter battery on 787 that caught fire at Heathrow Airport. MORE

Jul. 17, 2013

Several large electric utilities, including Con Edison and National Grid, are testing large batteries from Eos Energy Storage; if testing goes well, batteries hold promise of providing affordable energy storage on large scale. MORE

Jul. 13, 2013

Fire breaks out on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner while parked at Heathrow Airport in London; cause of fire is not immediately apparent; investors, already skittish about malfunctioning batteries on model, send Boeing shares down 4.7 percent. MORE

Jun. 24, 2013

If you need to leave the phone’s GPS location services feature turned on all day, you can conserve battery power in other ways. MORE

Jun. 13, 2013

Underwriters Laboratories, after a string of failures on Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, says it is strengthening its lithium-ion battery standards to prevent short circuits that can lead to fire. MORE

Jun. 5, 2013

Strut, a company that makes grills and wheels for luxury cars, recently introduced an elegant charging system for the iPad — one that costs more than the device. MORE

Jun. 5, 2013

Japanese pilots are nervous about whether they will receive enough warnings about any hazards with new battery systems on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner as aircraft returns to skies after being grounded following two incidents involving smoke or fire; Boeing officials acknowledge they have not expanded alerts, but say new system virtually eliminates such risks to plane. MORE